2 confirmed dead in I-20 wreck

Published 11:02 am, Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Midland emergency personnel work the scene of a fatal vehicle crash on the south service road of Interstate 20 on Wednesday. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Midland emergency personnel work the scene of a fatal vehicle crash on the south service road of Interstate 20 on Wednesday. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

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Midland emergency personnel work the scene of a fatal vehicle crash on the south service road of Interstate 20 on Wednesday. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Midland emergency personnel work the scene of a fatal vehicle crash on the south service road of Interstate 20 on Wednesday. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

Image 3 of 4

Midland emergency personnel work the scene of a two-vehicle crash on the south service road of Interstate 20 on Wednesday. Two men died in the wreck.

Midland emergency personnel work the scene of a two-vehicle crash on the south service road of Interstate 20 on Wednesday. Two men died in the wreck.

Photo: James Durbin/Reporter-Telergam

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Photo: Rye Druzin/Reporter-Telegram

2 confirmed dead in I-20 wreck

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Midland police confirmed two people died Wednesday afternoon after their Ford 150 pickup was rear-ended by a commercial truck near the south service road of Interstate 20 and Cotton Flat Road.

The driver of the pickup, 41-year-old Pedro Lara, and a passenger that has yet to be identified became the 38th and 39th people to die on roads inside Midland County this year, according to Reporter-Telegram records.

The driver of the commercial vehicle, Antonio Zapata Jr., was not seriously injured, according to a press release from the city.

One eastbound lane of Interstate 20 and the off-ramp to Cotton Flat Road was shut down until 10 p.m. Wednesday as authorities investigated the cause of the wreck. The south service roads, were to reopen by 6 p.m., said Sara Bustilloz, public information officer for the city.

Charges against the commercial vehicle driver are possible pending an investigation, according to Bustilloz.

Police were called out to the wreck at 3:37 p.m. The pickup was in the right lane of I-20 and had slowed down in traffic, possibly because of Texas Department of Transportation work being done further down the interstate, she said.

The commercial truck then rear-ended the pickup at a high speed, throwing the pickup into the dirt area between Interstate 20 and the off-ramp to Cotton Flat Road. The commercial vehicle ended up parking on the south service road next to the turn off for Cotton Flat Road.